Poll of Saudis, Egyptians overwhelmingly favors Clinton

Saudi and Egyptian citizens overwhelmingly disapprove of Barack Obama and prefer Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the 2016 race for the U.S. presidency, according to a new report.

The study published on June 13 by the Institute of Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya found that citizens of the two U.S. Mideast allies preferred Clinton despite widespread disapproval of President Barack Obama, who last week endorsed Clinton to succeed him.

Clinton was the preferred candidate among 35.9 percent of Egyptians and 30.2 percent of Saudis surveyed. Trump was favored by just 3.8 percent of Egyptians and 6.0 percent of Saudis.

Survey topics included respondents’ views of Obama, the upcoming U.S. elections, the Iran nuclear deal, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), and U.S. involvement in promoting Middle East peace.

Though Obama had stated early in his presidency he intended to be “a good president for the Muslim world,” just 16.7 percent of Egyptians rated Obama as good or very good for the Muslim world, compared to 38.1 percent who said he was mediocre, and 45.2 percent who said he was bad or very bad.

Of Saudi respondents, 19.1 percent rated Obama as good or very good, 36.1 percent said he was mediocre, and 43.8 percent rated him as bad or very bad.

On the Iranian nuclear deal, which was strongly opposed by the majority-Sunni states of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, respondents in both countries overwhelmingly believe Obama’s successor will not nullify the agreement. Only 19.7 percent of Egyptians and 13.6 percent of Saudis were optimistic that the next U.S. president would cancel the deal.

Few believed the U.S. would send ground troops to fight ISIL, with only 17.9 percent of Saudis and 32.3 percent of Egyptians responding that the next U.S. president would be prepared to commit ground troops.

On Israeli-Palestinian peace, just 25.5 percent of Egyptians and 18.9 percent of Saudis believe the U.S. should help promote such a treaty. A plurality of Egyptians believed the U.S. should not work towards any sort of Arab-Israeli agreement, while a narrow plurality of Saudis favored a regional agreement including Israel.